Chris Breen looks into the possibilities of Apple's announced HomeKit home automation platform. Apple is inviting developers to park their wares on iOS, but he makes an interesting observation with the Apple TV:

Wouldn't it be better if each home had a small, power-efficient, always-on, platform-agnostic, Wi-Fi-enabled computer that could talk to your devices both remotely and over a local network?

If you haven't yet glanced over at your Apple TV, now's the time. Beneath its rounded-rectangular shell is a computer running a form of iOS. One of the beauties of iOS (and its sibling OS X) is that it's modular. If you need it to take on a different kind of chore, just add a new software component.

Perhaps this device's big brother could serve as the gateway to our smart appliances.